Chapter 9: Sasuke, Compared to Your Brother, You're Really Too Weak!
"Who's there!?"
The three people who had been fighting below froze at the same time.
None of them had sensed when the person on the tree had arrived!
So they quickly put distance between each other while warily looking up.
There, on the branch, stood a figure dressed in a black dress.
A black straw hat and black cloak concealed most of her features.
Long red hair flowed down her back.
Brown glasses sat on her nose, and her pupils were the same vivid red.
A Kusagakure ninja headband gleamed on her forehead.
At this moment,
the strange girl was smiling faintly, observing them with great interest.
More accurately…
she was observing Sasuke.
"This farce has gone on long enough~"
As soon as Karin finished speaking,
she vanished from the branch.
The next instant, she appeared directly behind the fake Naruto.
A swift karate chop to the neck knocked him out cold.
"Poof~"
A puff of smoke erupted.
The fake Naruto finally revealed his true appearance—a Amegakure ninja wearing a gas mask.
But right now,
no one cared about those details.
Both Sasuke and Sakura had their eyes locked onto Karin.
"So fast!"
Cold sweat poured down Sasuke's face.
His heart was pounding wildly.
"Who… who is she?
She's way too strong!"
"What is she?"
Sakura was equally tense.
She swallowed hard, staring cautiously at Karin.
The pressure this girl gave her felt even heavier than Zabuza back then!
"She looks… about the same age as us.
How can she be this powerful!?"
"Who are you?"
Sasuke gripped his kunai tightly, voice low and guarded.
"And what's this 'Holy Master' you keep mentioning?"
"Me?"
Karin shook her head lightly.
Then in the next blink, she disappeared again!
"Too fast!
Where is she!?"
Sasuke and Sakura panicked, frantically searching in every direction.
But they couldn't find any trace of her.
Just when their nerves were stretched to the limit,
Naruto's voice suddenly drifted over from nearby.
"Um~ uh~
Why aren't you saying anything?
And why aren't you trying to steal our scroll?
Aren't we in the middle of the Chūnin Exams…?"
As Naruto's voice drew closer and closer,
Karin reappeared in Sasuke and Sakura's field of vision.
She walked straight up to Sasuke,
gave him a cool glance,
and spoke in a flat tone.
"Weakling, come with me. The Holy Master ordered me to keep you from getting bitten by the snake."
With that, she shut her eyes coolly,
ignoring the way Naruto kept chattering nonstop beside her.
"Weakling?"
Sasuke's mouth twitched violently.
He really wanted to argue back.
But deep down, he knew…
he genuinely wasn't on the same level as her.
So maybe the name wasn't completely unfair.
"And what do you mean by 'Holy Master' and 'snake'?
Even if I'm weaker than you, I'm not gonna get bitten by some random snake, am I?"
"This snake isn't an ordinary one~"
Karin shook her head with a small laugh.
"This snake is actually one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha… Orochimaru~"
"Orochimaru!?"
"The Sannin!?"
All three of them froze.
"Who's that!?"
They honestly knew almost nothing about this legendary figure.
"A guy whose chakra smells really disgusting and repulsive."
Karin didn't bother hiding her disdain for Orochimaru at all.
First impressions matter a lot.
In the original story,
Orochimaru was the one who "saved" Karin, so she had developed some attachment and loyalty toward him.
But now,
Byakuya was the one who had truly saved her.
Orochimaru? Just a creepy tongue-flicking enemy who made her skin crawl.
So she really, really hated him.
"But he's very strong.
Stronger than your Third Hokage, actually~"
Gulp…
All three swallowed at once.
"And the Sound ninja village?
He's the one who founded it."
Gulp…
They swallowed again.
"W-Why… why is he targeting me?"
Sasuke asked the question that mattered most to him right now.
"Because he's taken a fancy to your body~
He'll kill your soul directly, then take over your body with his own~"
Karin frowned slightly.
"That guy Orochimaru loves stealing other people's bodies the most.
He even had his eye on Itachi's body once.
Too bad he couldn't beat him~
So now he's coming after the little brother instead~"
"Itachi!?"
Sasuke's pupils shrank.
An icy, murderous aura instantly rolled off him.
"Hm?
Your chakra scent just changed a little~"
Karin sniffed lightly.
"Looks like your hatred for your brother runs really deep.
Too bad though…
Sasuke.
Compared to your brother, you're really, really weak!"
BOOM!
The moment those words landed,
Sasuke's chakra exploded outward.
His Sharingan snapped open instantly.
He charged straight at Karin.
But Karin only gave him an indifferent glance.
Her hands moved in a quick seal—
and a thick wooden branch shot out from the nearest tree,
wrapping around Sasuke in an instant and binding him tight!
"Calm down, weakling~
You're no match for me at all."
Karin pushed up her glasses with a cool expression.
"If you want to fight me,
you'd need the Mangekyō Sharingan at least!
Otherwise you can't even touch me~"
"Wood Style!?"
"Sasuke!"
Naruto and Sakura rushed over at once.
They tried to cut the wood apart and free him
while staying on high alert, ready for Karin to attack them at any moment.
Wood Style really did scare them quite a bit.
"Mangekyō Sharingan…"
Sasuke glanced toward Naruto without thinking.
"I'll get power my own way.
I'm not going to obey that bastard!"
Karin ignored Sasuke's words.
Instead she turned her head and looked into the distance.
"The snake's getting close.
You guys better prepare yourselves."
With that, she released the wood binding Sasuke.
Then she created a wooden clone with a soft poof.
"My clone will stay here with you.
It can protect you a little later."
After saying that, Karin's nose twitched twice.
Without hesitation, she flung a kunai into the distance.
"Orochimaru.
Since you're here, stop hiding.
Come out and chat."
"Who are you?"
A mature, sultry female voice echoed.
Then a "Grass ninja" slowly rose up from the ground.